REMEMBERING PROFESSOR BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH
This week’s TWU starts with an acknowledgment of Professor Benjamin Zephaniah who passed away on Wednesday.
The news popped up on my LinkedIn feed and it rocked my entire day. I’ve had the privilege of pulling together several events in his honour. I never knew him in a deeply personal way like others in my circle but he was a man you knew you should respect. Always clear on his values. Happy to speak up when needed. Not afraid to be controversial. Always spoke his truth.
The respect and admiration was clear as literally every other post on my socials for a number of hours was dedicated to him. That doesn’t happen for everyone. As someone rightly said he was an elder now transitioning into an ancestor where he will continue to be revered as someone who always spoke up for us. Bless you for your work, your art, your commitment and your bravery. Many are called, few answer and your forthrightness allows us all to speak.
Here is a fantastic interview conducted by the brilliant Natalie Morris where Professor Zephaniah talks about how racism is no longer overt. It’s clever in the way it manifests itself
RICHES CANCELLED AFTER ONE SEASON
Can someone call Tyler Perry please? We in the UK need a platform of our own after it was revealed that ITVX and Amazon drama Riches has been cancelled after only one season. This time last year I was buzzing to hear that a show about a Black British family with beautiful women and starring heavyweights like Hugh Quarshie – or Uncle Hugh as he is to me respectfully – and had a Black female writer in Abby Ajayi who has worked with the ultimate showrunner Shonda Rhymes.
I am extremely sad but not surprised it’s been cancelled and I think ITV must take some of the blame. First there was unclear promotion at the time saying the show was launching December 4 – it was the US launch date. Then it launched only on ITVX, ITV’s streaming platform. Eventually it did make it onto ITV which surprised me but to very lacklustre promo. As I said when I originally binge watched the series there were some beautiful cameos and cultural references that would be applauded by those immersed in ‘the culture’ but would probably be lost on the wider audience.
It begs the question why there isn’t a channel either on television or online to rival someone like BET. Money obviously springs to mind as a potential barrier to its creation but we need another broadcaster to pick this show up and a production company to give us Season 2. I need to know more about Uncle Hugh’s secretary…
You can still watch Season one of Riches on ITVx
TALKING POINT | INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS: ARE THEY CLOSER TO BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR BLACK WOMEN?
When it was announced that Jodie Turner-Smith had filed for divorce from my teenage crush Joshua Jackson I was a little upset. They were a couple that seemed to have a lot of fun and adored each other so I was rooting for them. I was also pleased that this richly melanated woman was with Jackson who has always made my heart flutter. It countered all the negativity often found in the news about Black women being the least attractive of women. I mean have you *seen* black women?! I’m sorry but securing a Black woman is like securing a goddess but I digress.
There’s now speculation that Joshua is now seeing Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o who recently split with her partner after being spotted in various locations together .
The cynic in me says always take what you read online with a pinch of salt but I’m not mad at this pairing, if it is indeed true. It seems like more and more Black women are getting comfortable with publicly acknowledging that their partners were white. Writer and actress Michaela Coel recently stepped out with an unidentified date for the recent fashion awards with much speculation around whether he was her partner or not. I also came across a recent article on Yahoo Style where Beverley Knight – who I adore – spoke about thinking she would marry an “Idris-type”, a stark contrast to her white, Irish but equally stunning husband.
If we were living in a United Colours of Benetton ad, all would be equal. However, Black women have long been vilified and attacked for dating outside their race, though it happens quite frequently with Black men. The attacks could be attributed to some Black women being vocal about their disappointment at being overlooked by Black men, particularly as they reach certain levels of power. However, this is also steeped in some Black men’s need to compare the apparent virtues of Black vs. White women. Where it is accepted to see Black men with white women, Black women seemed to be damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
I remember a prominent Black female influencer revealing her partner was white though she was known for being a staunch advocate for the rights of Black people. She ultimately ended up with lots of vile abuse hurled at her, causing her to be extremely private about her private life thereafter. I remember how vicious people’s comments were as if it was impossible for someone to hate the behaviour of some but love one at the same time. It’s a complex issue filled with nuance.
I’ve witnessed friends go through abuse when I was younger which ultimately led to them splitting up. I myself have been in an instance where I couldn’t reconcile being on the receiving end of the abuse of white privilege but having incredibly strong feelings for the person I was seeing. It challenged and questioned the things I hated most about this world. It made me fear having to mute myself in order to ‘fit’ into their world and also to really confront the warnings I’d received not to enter into those types of relationships. As a friend joked with me, it would be considered “off brand” for me to date outside my race as such a passionate advocate for my community. But I do wonder if Black women are missing out on love because the strain of the potential backlash could be too strong?
Choosing to go with your heart opens you up to a new layer to the public critique that already is an everyday consideration. To overtly walk in your difference, you have to trust the relationship is actually going somewhere to take on that level of weight. Having been in this position myself, I often still wonder, did I block a blessing being concerned about our difference, whether we could truly stand firm together with the other complexities in our relationship and whether we could ever truly understand each other?
When you hear stories about powerhouse business women like Mellody Hobson (who happens to be the wife of Star Wars creator George Lucas) going to give a talk and being pointed to the service entrance in these very modern post apartheid, post segregation times it makes you wonder what hope there is for the rest of us. Even when I went to find a photograph for this section on Unsplash, it was quicker to find a photo of Black men with white women than vice versa.
The considerations Black women have to make in interracial relationships is beautifully articulated in the gorgeous Bozoma St John’s book The Urgent Life. In the book she talks about her relationship with her husband Peter, and his ability to walk into any space without any worries because of his privilege a white man and to be comfortable in any place he occupied because his place was never questioned. I felt so seen as she candidly explained her feelings that echoed my own thoughts. Love really may not be enough, and in this instance, it seems it was a contributing factor in their split.
It’s hard to ignore race as a factor in these equations. Even if you’re not thinking about it, someone somewhere will quickly remind you. However, I’m sort of pleased that more Black women are embracing it more publicly. It’s not a phenomenon don’t get me wrong but there does seem to be an incremental shift towards acceptance.
ON THAT NOTE…
The New Year is 25 days away and you may have started thinking about how to make 2024 better. I loved this video from Steph from Exodus Summit, who helps women move abroad.
